Guide to different Windows Docker base images?
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With e.g. Ubuntu, it is simple: There is a single Docker base image, updated in step with the non-dockerized OS. With Windows, you got a plethora of them: servercore, nanoserver, dotnet-framework, ... And it is difficult to tell which ones are meant as "general" bases, which ones are tailored to a (small or large) specific application area, which ones are more or less complete applications rather than primarily intended as base images. The one-line description rarely tells more than the name does, and says nothing about how this alaternative compares to other alternatives. Is there anywhere to be found a "comparison chart" over the various (general) Windows Docker base images, telling which features are included or not in each of them?
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With e.g. Ubuntu, it is simple: There is a single Docker base image, updated in step with the non-dockerized OS. With Windows, you got a plethora of them: servercore, nanoserver, dotnet-framework, ... And it is difficult to tell which ones are meant as "general" bases, which ones are tailored to a (small or large) specific application area, which ones are more or less complete applications rather than primarily intended as base images. The one-line description rarely tells more than the name does, and says nothing about how this alaternative compares to other alternatives. Is there anywhere to be found a "comparison chart" over the various (general) Windows Docker base images, telling which features are included or not in each of them?
I will explain these in the most simple words, but you need to bear with me that the usage of these images is not for general cases, they are specialized images available for special needs.
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servercore, nanoserver, dotnet-framework
As their names suggest, they are the images for [Windows Server](https://hub.docker.com/\_/microsoft-windows-servercore), and here is the description for the image,
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The official Windows Server Core base image for containers
And that clears up that this image is the base image for containers that would work on Windows Server. Same for others, for example the dotnet-framework. Who doesn't know this one? Oh, and to your curiosity, there is still a .NET SDK image as well that provides a base image for your build tool.
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which ones are more or less complete applications rather than primarily intended as base images.
Like I said, they all have their specialized features, there is [Windows docker image](https://hub.docker.com/\_/microsoft-windows), if that is what you mean. Comparing Ubuntu with Windows Server, or .NET framework is like comparing oranges to apple juice (get it?).
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how this alaternative compares to other alternatives.
Seems like you have not been working on Windows environments lately, or perhaps you are a Linux guy, because that is pretty much clear the way Windows works. Windows has some native app development frameworks, Win32, MFC, WinRT (Windows Runtime) and Universal Apps, and then there are some modern frameworks (older actually!) like .NET framework, .NET Core, .NET Standard, and much more... Then there are different flavors of Windows like Windows for consumers—the Windows we use—and Windows Server for workloads, think of that as Ubuntu Server, then there is Windows for IoT, Windows Mobile (dead almost), and whatnot... Man, Windows is merely 2 years younger than this universe, and ever expanding. :-) I would recommend spending some time with Windows development environments and these names will make much more sense than they do right now.
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Is there anywhere to be found a "comparison chart"
This is something that I completely agree with, for beginners this can be helpful. :thumbsup: Would you like to contribute your